BIRD LIST for INDIA

Birding in India

Have we mentioned how exciting it is to become reacquainted with the BIRDS of this fine continent? Well…wherever we go, there they are! In Bangalore, the streets are alive with the sounds of the Asian Koel, Rose-Ringed Parakeets, Crows and Purple-Rumped Sunbirds. These are the birds that local birders consider too common to really note. Kind of like Stellars Jays, or Acorn Woodpeckers in Yosemite. Every single bird is a thrill for us, and we walk down the streets as if we are on a perpetual treasure hunt. “Mom! There is an Asian Koel! I think I see a Kingfisher! What is that green bird!?” When we get off the streets and go to our neighborhood “tank” (reservoir) to take a walk, we get even more excited. Even though this is not the migration season, there are plenty of things to keep us easily amused birders happy. At Sankey Tank in Malleswaram, we stroll around with binoculars at the ready watching the noisy Great Cormorants nesting! The parents stuff things that we are guessing are fish, into the gaping, yellow maws of their large and loud offspring. What a racket! To make things even more interesting, the nests of these colony nesters is among the trees where the huge, fuzzy, sleeping fruit bats are spending their restful day. Hundreds of the hanging, winged mammals doze among the unbelievable cacophony, and to our delight, every individual animal in every branch of the six or seven trees is squirming and making some sort of screechy sound. Simply lovely.

We had many great bird moments in the Bangalore region. We got to go to Lalbagh Botanical Gardens a couple of times the best trip was when we met our wonderful friend Deepa Mohan. Deepa is a friend whom has visited us in Yosemite and makes us laugh often. Not to mention she is lots of fun to bird with. Another was Sunday the 19th when we got to join the Bangalore Birders on the 3rd Sunday outing south of town near Bannerghatta Ntl. Park. We were picked up by our friend Uma at 5am and spent the day looking at birds and beetles and butterflies, moths and spiders too. Fortified only by our excitement for sharing bird sightings and of course with chai in tiny cups so hot one of them got dropped we saw many amazing birds and bugs. With waning energy as food was not built into the day, the kids were just about to give up, when they saw…The Tree!!

Here is our list…we will update it as we see more….until January in Thailand!

Bird List Bangalore 2010

Indian Pond Heron

Brahminy Kite

Great Tit

Spot-billed Pelican

Great Cormorant

House Crow

White-throated Kingfisher

Rose-ringed Parakeet

Plum-Headed Parakeet

White-browed Wagtail

Common Moorhen

Common Myna

Common Coot

Purple-Rumped Sunbird

House Sparrow

Purple Swamphen

White-Cheeked Barbet

Greater Coucal

White-Breasted Waterhen

Little Cormorant

Coppersmith Barbet

Green Bee-Eater

Pied Cuckoo

Blue-Faced Malkoha

Spotted Owlet

Blue Rock Pigeon

Spotted Dove

Laughing Dove

Black-Shouldered Kite

Black Kite

Crested Serpent Eagle

Shikra

Purple Heron

Blue-Winged Leafbirds

Bay-Backed Shrike

Large-Billed Crow

Black-Headed Cuckooshrike

Small Minivet

White-Bellied Drongo

Black Drongo

Plain Prinia

Indian Bush Lark

Little Egret

Pied Bushchat

Oriental Honeybuzzard

Jungle Crow

Pied Cuckoo

Silverbill

Red-Rumped Swallow

Wire-Tailed Swallow

House Swift

Common Iora

Barn Swallow

White-Browed Bulbul

Red-Whiskered Bulbul

Red-Vented Bulbul

Ashy Prinia

Oriental White-Eye

Yellow-Eyed Babbler

Common Tailorbird

Pale-Billed Flowerpecker

Baya Weaver

Scaly-Breasted Munia

Indian Robin

Oriental Magpie Robin

Then we got on the train north. (See “Leaving Bangalore” entry to learn of the other emotions related to our departure. Anyone would think that this fact could mean the end of our birding days for the duration but instead we were surprised at how entertaining it was to scan the Indian countryside which looked greener and more bucolic than we imagined. Especially after a man with a squeegee appeared and cleaned the chunks off of the outside of our window. What a pleasure to have the treasure hunt continue, and to reap rewards in the following additions to our list:

Himalayan Homecoming

We're taking our family back to South Asia for a Fall Semester Sabbatical! Ever since our 2007 Fulbright semester in India, we've been saving up and planning for our return. We will enroll our own daughters, and teach at Manasarovar Academy, a charity school in Kathmandu serving children of Tibetan refugee families. Paul was granted unpaid leave from his teaching job, and Karen departed one month early from her... read more!

About Me

Karen lives in the Mountains of California, where she works and lives the life of a Naturalist/Park Ranger in Yosemite National Park. Home is with her husband and 3 daughters, though they all recognize that this good Earth is Home in a larger sense. It is this philosophy that draws Karen to the Himalaya, and the people and birds here are like family. The quest to have more people know the fantastic birds they share this sacred land with is a worthy cause. What happens here, happens to the same Earth. We really are all in this together!